Milwaukee’s concert landscape ranges from a 450-capacity club to a festival that welcomed 602,231 people in 2025. The figures below describe Summerfest, Fiserv Forum, Pabst Theater Group venues, and selected event details with their measurement periods kept explicit.
Contents
- Milwaukee’s festival scale
- Summerfest attendance and operations
- Summerfest 2026 ticket and access statistics
- Fiserv Forum by the numbers
- Milwaukee venue capacities and locations
- Recent and scheduled concert dates
- Community and economic impact
Milwaukee’s festival scale
Summerfest began in 1968, according to Summerfest Store’s About Us information. The festival uses 12 stages and occupies 75 acres on Milwaukee’s Lake Michigan lakefront. Summerfest says it consistently features hundreds of performances, making its scale substantially different from a single-stage club show.
Milwaukee World Festival says the first Summerfest debuted at 35 separate locations throughout Milwaukee. The festival moved to its present lakefront location in 1970, while Milwaukee World Festival itself was founded in 1965. These dates describe the organization and festival history reported by the named sources; they are not current attendance measurements.
The festival’s annual reach is also described in broad terms by Milwaukee World Festival: about 1.5 million people are hosted each year at Henry Maier Festival Park. The same source says the organization’s lease for Henry Maier Festival Park runs through 2030. The approximately $181.3 million figure reported for Summerfest is its estimated annual direct and indirect economic impact, not a ticket-revenue total.
Summerfest attendance and operations
The clearest recent attendance comparison is between the 2024 and 2025 editions. Milwaukee Record, citing a Milwaukee World Festival release, reported 555,925 attendees for Summerfest 2024. That total was 68,482 lower than the 624,407 reported for 2023, or about an 11% year-over-year decline. The 2024 festival ran for 9 days, and rain affected 6 of those 9 days.
WTMJ reported attendance of 602,231 for Summerfest 2025. That was about 8% higher than the 2024 total. The two published totals therefore show a rebound from 2024, although the source descriptions use rounded percentage language for the year-over-year comparison.
| Summerfest edition or measure | Reported figure | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 attendance | 624,407 | Comparison figure cited for 2024 |
| 2024 attendance | 555,925 | Milwaukee Record citing Milwaukee World Festival |
| 2024 change from 2023 | Down 68,482; about 11% | Milwaukee Record citing Milwaukee World Festival |
| 2025 attendance | 602,231 | WTMJ |
| 2025 change from 2024 | About 8% higher | WTMJ |
| 2024 festival length | 9 days | Milwaukee Record citing Milwaukee World Festival |
| 2024 rain-affected days | 6 of 9 days | Milwaukee Record citing Milwaukee World Festival |
Summerfest 2024 included over 600 artists. The edition also recorded 64 total sponsors, including 14 new sponsors, plus over 33 additional exhibitors. Its marketplace had 87 vendors using 132 vendor spaces. These counts describe the 2024 edition rather than a permanent annual total.
The 2024 release also reported that 21% of patrons entered through one of 14 free-admission promotions. Milwaukee World Festival hired over 2,400 seasonal employees for that edition and provided over 70,000 free tickets to the community. Summerfest integrated over 70 local community organizations in 2024.
Summerfest 2026 ticket and access statistics
Summerfest’s listed 2026 dates are June 18–20, June 25–27, and July 2–4. General admission is listed at $30 through June 17, 2026, and $33 from June 18 through July 4, 2026. General admission and multiday passes allow entry from noon to midnight.
The festival’s ticket rules distinguish grounds access from premium or performance access. A Summerfest amphitheater ticket includes same-day admission to the festival grounds and stages. The Level Up deck allows access from 7:30 p.m. to midnight, and Level Up tickets include 2 beverages. Children age 3 and older require a ticket for Level Up access.
Uline Pit wristband entry begins at 6:30 p.m. Wristbands can be picked up starting June 1, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Summerfest’s parking-pass information says its parking lots are closer to the entrance than any other lot. The festival FAQ says bags larger than 9 by 10 by 12 inches are not allowed on the grounds.
These figures are listed 2026 ticketing and access details, so they should be read as date-specific terms rather than general rules for every Summerfest edition.
Fiserv Forum by the numbers
Fiserv Forum opened on August 26, 2018, according to its fact sheet. The arena cost $524 million and measures 730,000 square feet. Its listed concert capacity is 18,000, compared with a basketball capacity of 17,341. The lower bowl contains 10,000 seats.
The arena’s internal hospitality inventory includes 34 suites and 3 clubs. Listed club capacities include 1,000 for the Mezzanine Club, 500 for the BMO Club, and 170 for Loft seating. Fiserv Forum can host up to 200 events per year, a maximum annual event capability rather than a claim about the number held in any particular year.
| Fiserv Forum measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Opening date | August 26, 2018 |
| Construction cost | $524 million |
| Size | 730,000 square feet |
| Concert capacity | 18,000 |
| Basketball capacity | 17,341 |
| Lower-bowl seats | 10,000 |
| Suites | 34 |
| Clubs | 3 |
| Annual event capability | Up to 200 events |
Production and guest infrastructure at Fiserv Forum includes 6 loading docks and 300,000 pounds of rigging capability. The building has 10 escalators, 10 elevators, more than 9,000 LED light fixtures, and 34 public restrooms. Its parking structure has capacity for 1,250 vehicles.
Milwaukee venue capacities and locations
Vivarium is a 450-capacity Milwaukee venue, according to Pabst Theater Group’s Vivarium information. It is located at 1818 North Farwell Avenue, Milwaukee. The capacity figure places it in a very different operating category from Fiserv Forum’s 18,000-person concert capacity.
Pabst Theater Group’s venue information lists several additional Milwaukee addresses. The Pabst Theater is listed at 116 W Wisconsin Ave, as is The Riverside Theater. Miller High Life Theatre is listed at 500 West Kilbourn Avenue. Turner Hall Ballroom is listed at 1040 Vel R. Phillips Avenue, and The Fitzgerald is listed at 1119 North Marshall Street.
The supplied venue information provides a capacity for Vivarium but not for the other listed Pabst Theater Group locations. Their addresses are useful location facts, but no unsupported capacity ranking can be inferred from them.
Recent and scheduled concert dates
Pabst Theater Group’s Vivarium listings included seven 2026 shows: Greg Marshall on May 7, Tropidelic on May 9, The Joy Formidable on May 10, High Fade on May 14, Mac Saturn on June 5, The Arcadian Wild on June 6, and Bob Schneider Solo on June 19. These are listed event dates, not attendance totals.
The Pabst Theater Group listing also included Bingo Loco presents Name That Song – Hip Hop Bingo at Turner Hall Ballroom on June 6, 2026. The event title identifies the program; the supplied listing does not provide a ticket count or venue capacity for that show.
Fiserv Forum listings included HOG Fest featuring Three Days Grace and I Prevail on March 5, 2026; JOURNEY in Milwaukee on March 19, 2026; We Them One’s Comedy Tour on April 17, 2026; and Forrest Frank: The Jesus Generation Tour on June 5, 2026. The arena also listed Koe Wetzel on October 10, with no year supplied in the listing. That date is therefore retained without assigning a year.
Community and economic impact
Summerfest’s 2024 community figures extend beyond attendance. Milwaukee Record’s report, citing a Milwaukee World Festival release, said the festival donated over 26,000 meals through Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. It also donated over $13,500 of hygiene products to Mary Lou’s Closet and over 4,000 books for Next Door literacy initiatives.
The same 2024 reporting recorded more than 70,000 free tickets provided to the community and participation from over 70 local community organizations. These are counts connected to Summerfest 2024, not general annual promises.
The approximately $181.3 million annual direct and indirect economic-impact estimate reported by Milwaukee World Festival provides a broader measure of the festival’s role in Milwaukee. Because the source labels it an approximate impact figure, it should not be treated as a precise cash total or as a forecast. Similarly, the approximately 1.5 million people hosted each year at Henry Maier Festival Park is a broad annual attendance statement, while the edition-specific totals above identify particular Summerfest years.